Vehicle-hub.



UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

EDWARD sENDELBAoH, or TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA.

VEHICLE-HUB.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent 10.701,767, dated June s,1902.

Application iiled February 5, 1902. SerialNo. 92,633. (No model.)

T0 all whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, EDWARD SENDELBACH, a citizen ofthe United States,residing at Terre Haute, in the county of Vigo and State ofIndiana, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Hubs; .and I dodeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part o fthis specification.

This invention relates to hubs for vehicles; and its' obj ect is toprovide a wooden hub having end portions yof reduced diameter surroundedby metal shells, a central portion of larger diameter suitable toreceive the usual spoke-tenons and sustained against lateral pressure byupright flanges on the shells, and a metallic box unconnected with theother metal portions of the hub. Such a hub can be tted to axle-bearingsof any given taper by simply boring out the hub and inserting a box ofthe required taper. The flanges on the shells abut closely against theends of the central portion and being securely clamped thereto by boltsor rivets sustain the wood and cause it to be compressed endwise andsolidified when the spokes are driven. On each flange .is a lip which iscompressed tightly upon the outer surface of the enlarged center of thehub, so as to solidify the wood radially.

In hubs of the so-called Concord construction (shown in my Patent No.651,276) the box is integral with one of the iianges which compressesand sustains the short Wooden center. It is found that certain'classesof wagon builders use bearings of special shape and taper.y In order toprovide a hub having the Concord advantages with respect tosolidiiication of the wooden spoke-receiving portion and an attractiveand elegant appearance by lreason of the ends of the hub being smallandgraceful and yet permit builders to suit their own Wishes as to thesize and taper of the bearing, I provide a loose box-that is, a boxseparate from the other metal portions of the hub. As the Wooden portioncan be bored out to take a box of any,

taper,- this enables me to use the same hub for customers requiringdifferent styles of bearings.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a sideelevation, partly insection, of my ner hub. i Fig. 2 is a detail view showing one of thelips before it is compressed.v

The body of the hub is of wood, having endv portions A of small diameterand a centralv portion A of larger diameter, suitable for affordingan'adequate support to the spokes. Each end portion A is encircled by athin metal shell or jacket B, preferably made of malleable cast-iron andof graceful and elegant contour and preferably covering the hub from theenlargement to its end. The pointband B may be integral with the frontshell and may be suitably roughened to serve as a step. The back shellmay have a sand-band B2 integral with it. Each shell has a flange B3 atits inner end extending outwardly in a plane substantially perpendicularto the axis of the hub. `These iianges fit closely and smoothly againstthe ends of the central enlargement A; so that when the shells arepressed onto the hub theflanges will abut against the centralenlargement and compress it endwise with all the force of the powerfulhydraulic press used for this purpose. After the shells have beenpressed on bolts or rivets C are passed through suitable holes in theflanges B3 and the central enlarged portion A to hold all these partsfirmly and rigidly together.

In order to obtain not only an endwise but a radial compression of thehub, each flange B3 is provided around its edge with an integral lip B4,normally inclined, as shown in Fig. 2, so as not to come in contact withthe Wooden hub when the shells are pressed on. After the shells havebeen forced home thelips are bent down upon the Wooden enlarge ment A byany suitable mechanism, so as to strongly compress the'wood all aroundthe ends of said enlargement, the pressure ,being exerted in a radialdirection. This not only assists in the solidification of the hub, butprevents the Woodk from shelling. The outer surface of the enlargement Ais preferably cylindrical, as shown, so that the inner surface of thelips when they have been compressed upon said enlargement willbeperpendicular to the fianges. Thehub having been thus compressedbetween the anges and by the lips, the spokes D are then driven. Thetenons d of the spokes are made slightly larger than the mortises a andpreferably somewhat tapering, so that when driven tightly into placethey expand the mortises, thereby still further compressing the fibersof the hub. As the enlargement A is not over an inch longer than themortises the comparatively small amount of wood between the spoke-tenonsand the flanges is solidified and hardened very greatly by the operationof driving the spokes, and thus affords a firm support for the spokes,so that they are enabled to successfully resist side strains. The wheeltherefore stands up better and runs true longer than a wheel in whichthe hub is not so solidified. Moreover, the solidifying of the woodprevents it from checking, splitting, and shelling. In order to get thisresult, the ends of the enlargement A and the surfaces of the flangesmust stand at substantially right angles with the axis of the hub, sinceif they are at all inclined so that the flanges are cupped the terrificpressure to which they are subjected by the hydraulic presswill burstthem open, the two inclined surfaces exerting a wedging action on eachother. lThis bursting strain is set up to a certain extent in the shellsB; but their taper is so comparatively slight that the wooden hub willyield and fit itself to the shells without offering resistance enough toburst them. Moreover, the flanges B3 greatly strengthen the shells toresist this bursting strain.

The box E is loose-that is to say, it is simply a tapered bushing driveninto the cen tral bore of the Wooden hub. It can be made of any desiredtaper to suit any given axlebearing F. The axle has the usual collar Gand retaining-nut H, between which the box E fits easily. Instead of themetallic axle and bearing shown any othermay be substituted, such as awooden axle and metallic skein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. A vehicle-hub,consisting of a Wooden body provided with a central enlargementhavingits ends lying substantially in planes perpendicular to its axis,metallic shells surrounding said body and provided with flanges fittingtightly against said enlargement, and lips on said flanges compressedupon the outer surface of lthe enlargement.

2. In a vehicle-wheel, the combination with a Wooden body provided witha central enlargement, of metallic shells surrounding the end portionsof said body and having flanges fitting tightly against the ends of saidenlargement, lips on said fianges compressing said enlargement radially,bolts clamping the flanges and enlargement together lengthwise, andspokes having tapering tenons driven into said enlargement, the wood ofthe'enlargement being thereby compressed and solidied both radially andlengthwise.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD SENDELBACH.

Witnesses:

W. H. CRooK, W. C. CLARK.

